Wisconsin State Capitol
 Wisconsin State Capitol
The Wisconsin State Capitol sits in the center of the Capitol Park, located atop a hilltop on an isthmus formed by lakes Monona and Mendota. The nine and one-half acre landscaped grounds forming the square remains at the center of the original historic plat of Madison, designed in 1836 by James Duane Doty and surveyor J.V. Suydam. The current, granite faced, Beaux-Arts style building is the third on the site, and the fourth capitol building of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Capitol has important associations with the Progressive Movement in the early decades of the twentieth century. Governor Phillip La Follette's contributions to social reform include model legislation for unemployment compensation and for an increased governmental role in economic planning. The capitol building was also the home of the Legislative Reference Library, an outgrowth of the "Wisconsin Idea" -- the concept that knowledge gathered by the research efforts of university faculty should be utilized to improve the lives of the citizens of the state.
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